So, the running gag has been that I was going to confound all your expectations and show up today with pages of praise about Marc Roderick. And then follow that up on Friday with an entry about Tom Polce. And spend the next couple of weeks running through Kay Hanley, Alena, Mike Nastri, Mark Bates, Nicole Anguish, Doug the Penguin, Robby Roadsteamer, Scher, Tina Cervasio, Pete Stone, Pete Galea, Pete Weiss, Pete the Greek, and Halogen before finally, begrudgingly, getting around to Brendo. Since he's such a joker and all.

But I'll be nice.

Brendan

I think it's a bit unusual for a late addition to a band -- and a bassist, at that -- not only to have a noticeable impact, but to actually be the missing piece that finally gets a band to where they always wanted to be. But Brendan was exactly that.

Before his Scamper days, Brendan (known then as Brendo Frendo) was known to us simply as a Fooled by April superfan who looked a lot like Mike and occasionally showed up at a Scamper show, drunk and heckly. In 2004, as we were parting ways with Marc Roderick, we hatched the idea of the Rotating Bassist Show: instead of tedious, traditional auditions, we'd have a whole army of bassists learn two songs apiece. We'd display our revolving crew of bassists at a live show, and at the end of the night, would unveil the newest Scamp. Brendo heard the idea at a party and wanted in. We all thought he was kidding, and that he just wanted to get on stage for a laugh and a lark. Which was fine by us.

To our complete and utter astonishment, not only could the guy play bass, he played our songs really damn well. And he immediately -- and spontaneously -- launched into third-part high harmonies, which really opened our eyes. This guy could bring something to the band above and beyond filling Roderick's Chuck Taylors. And the real kicker was that he was already our friend, and really and truly fit in seamlessly.

We scheduled a meeting at the Tin Tin Buffet (exciting Brendan so much that he forgot to bring his bass) and offered him the gig. With apologies to Chuck Young (dude, seriously, you were this close), it was a no-brainer.

Rehearsals in the fall of 2004 took on a whole new life. Brendan infused Scamper with an energy and lifeblood that had petered out in what was, behind the scenes, a rather tumultuous period for us. With our newfound ability to construct three-part harmonies in our tunes, Scamper had finally completed the puzzle. We began to take on what has become our signature sound, and his presence in the band absolutely propelled us to the next level. Suddenly, you couldn't read a review of us without a mention of harmony -- and while it obviously referred to our voices, I think the double meaning rings just as true.

Brendan's first real gig with us (outside of Rotating Bassists and some shit gig in Worcester) was our CD Release show for Leave Your Glasses On. He got to walk out to an enormous, adoring crowd, and he absolutely shined. And when he experienced first-hand exactly what it meant to be in Scamper -- spotlights, photos, synchronized jumps -- how did he respond? By losing 75 pounds in a matter of months, because he wanted -- needed -- to be in shape and look good for the band. That, my friends, is what you call dedication.

And Brendan's ability to hit those high notes meant more than just three-part harmonies; it also, finally, afforded us the opportunity to do Def Leppard and Journey covers. (He also relieved Keith and myself of stage banter duty, which has led to some of our more legendary, if not especially proud, stage moments.)

Finally, it cannot be underestimated how much Brendan has contributed to the Scamper marketing machine. He has tirelessly posted to his journal almost every day for over three years, finally giving Keith the "sticky web content" that had so eluded us. (Does anyone out there remember the MadLibs, or that original "message board" that looked like a clunky Facebook wall?) And he took the reins on the podcast, writing all of the skits (Nate Sets U Str8? Completely Brendan material.), producing and directing each episode, and editing them all together every week. It's probably the most work anyone not named Keith has ever done for the band. The podcast was not only one of the most fun (and ambitious, honestly) projects on which the band has ever embarked, but it expanded Scamper Nation into an untapped world community. Sales of our records actually skyrocketed, and that's not exaggeration for the sake of sentiment. (Make a note, bands: sexually-charged fairy tales featuring gingerbread men and faux-English accents will MOVE YOUR RECORDS.) He's also been the impetus behind so much of the little stuff: the coordinated outfits, the choreography (from the shared mics to the kicks to the sexy robot dance) -- all the little things that get people to take notice.

Behind all the dick jokes, Brendan is a tremendously sensitive guy, who really and truly cares about everyone in the band. If any one of us is acting a little out of sorts at rehearsal, he wants to pull you aside and talk it out. He's made us all into more honest and open people, he's helped us keep our priorities in check, and, more than anything, he constantly reminds us to enjoy every goddamn second of being in the band -- as he has, without pretense, since 2004. Brendan has said many times that his favorite part of being in Scamper isn't the swooning ladyfans or radio interviews or the Mtv auditions (what, you don't know that story?); no, his favorite part is the downtime between a soundcheck and a show, when the four of us simply get to hang out together. A lot of bands kind of hate each other; we've been extremely fortunate to be each other's best friends, and I think that bond is evident in our music and our stage show. Brendan has really helped us appreciate everything that we have, and in return, I hope he knows how much we appreciate him.

I can't express how pleased I am to be part of his new project, because -- we now find out -- he's also one hell of a songwriter. He calls the Brendan Boogie Band his vanity project, but you know what? He deserves that chance to hog the spotlight. He's absolutely earned it.